XRP price rises as RLUSD stablecoin flips PYUSD on a key metric
The XRP price continued to rise, reaching its highest level in over a month as cryptocurrencies bounced back.
Ripple (XRP) climbed to $2.60, extending a recovery that began on Dec. 30 when it bottomed at the psychologically important level of $2.
One catalyst for XRP’s rise is the gradual growth of Ripple’s USD stablecoin (RLUSD), which has now attracted over $72 million in assets.
According to CoinGecko, there are signs that RLUSD usage is increasing, with its 24-hour trading volume reaching $162 million. This volume makes RLUSD the sixth-most used stablecoin in the crypto market.
RLUSD has surpassed other popular stablecoins, including Justin Sun’s USDD, Frax, and PayPal’s PYUSD. Notably, PYUSD, which has a market cap of $534 million, recorded a 24-hour volume of just $22 million.
However, RLUSD faces stiff competition from major stablecoins such as Tether (USDT) and USD Coin, which had 24-hour volumes of $74 billion and $6.7 billion, respectively.
XRP’s rally has coincided with rising investor demand for Ripple meme coins. Among the top performers this week were newly launched tokens such as Pongo, XRP Army, PHNIX, and Britto.
The growth of RLUSD and the performance of Ripple meme coins have helped boost the utility of the Ripple network, which has been criticized in the past as a “ghost chain.”
XRP price could continue rising in the coming days as Donald Trump’s inauguration nears. Crypto investors see Ripple as being one of the top beneficiaries of this inauguration as it will lead to significant changes at the Securities Exchange Commission. For example, Polymarket users have given a 58% chance that the agency will approve a spot XRP ETF in 2025.
XRP price analysis
The weekly chart shows that XRP has risen for three consecutive days, even as other cryptocurrencies have declined. The recovery began when the coin dropped to the psychological level of $2, which forms the lower boundary of a symmetrical triangle. This pattern is part of a bullish pennant formation.
XRP has also formed a break-and-retest pattern, dipping to a key support level of $1.9660, its previous all-time high. This pattern is widely seen as a bullish continuation signal.
XRP remains above all major moving averages, suggesting further bullish momentum. The next crucial resistance level to watch is $2.9150, which could serve as the next target in the ongoing rally.
